Douluo Dalu: Starting With Tom Cat

"I've been looking for you for so long. Today, I'm going to skin you, rip out your tendons, and drink your blood!" Bu Le pointed tremblingly at Shen An and the others with a flowery gesture.

Shen An was puzzled. Did this person have some grudge against him?

But the next second, Tom shivered and jumped into his arms, biting his own finger in fear. This person actually wanted to eat a cat—how terrifying.

Jerry was clinging to Tom like glue, trembling just as much.

Shen An understood instantly—this was probably the pervert that Zhuqing mentioned before.

But what surprised him was that the pervert hadn't died and had even come looking for them. Still, Shen An wasn't entirely shocked—after all, he had never seen Tom or Jerry kill anyone.

Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er exchanged a glance. Seven soul rings rose from their bodies.

"You all clearly look like bad people! Don't you dare hurt Tom. Leave now, or don't blame me for being rude!" Shui Yue'er said fiercely, though it lacked any real intimidation.

The lecherous, sickly-looking E'Kao leered and said, "Hehehe, I'm not interested in the cat, but you... I'm very interested in. Come, let Uncle show you the pleasures of adulthood."

Shui Yue'er looked at E'Kao with utter disgust. "You? That repulsive face of yours is enough to make anyone want to vomit."

E'Kao's face instantly darkened. The truth cuts like a blade, and honesty often wounds the most. What he hated most in life was others criticizing his appearance.

"A little Soul Elder like you dares to talk to me like that? Today, I'll show you what real strength is! Brothers, let's go!" E'Kao growled menacingly.

The three of them simultaneously released their soul power.

A pink dome appeared above Bu Le's head. E'Kao's neck and mouth elongated grotesquely, feathers sprouted from his arms, and his belly swelled as if he were ten months pregnant. They both looked comically bizarre.

Oddly, the most perverted-looking of the three, Tian Ya, had the most normal Martial Soul: a short blade.

Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er were instantly alarmed—the three of them were all Soul Kings!

Each bore one white, one yellow, and three purple rings.

Shui Bing'er even sensed soul power levels near that of Leng Yingqiu from Tian Ya and E'Kao. She felt serious danger. Though she knew Shen An was strong, facing three well-coordinated Soul Kings was a different matter entirely.

"Shen An, let's retreat as we fight—try to draw attention from Tianshui City," Shui Bing'er whispered.

"Soul Masters who abuse their power like you three are absolutely disgusting." Shen An looked at E'Kao and the others with contempt, a murderous glint rising in his heart.

He remembered how this man had lusted after Zhu Zhuqing and had shown no remorse even after Tom punished him. People like this deserved to die.

Maybe he had been too merciful all along. In this world of the strong preying on the weak, Shen An had always shown restraint. Despite his great power and access to weapons as devastating as a nuclear bomb, he had held himself back, refraining from killing.

He shook his head. That wasn't right. Since he was in the world of Douluo, he had to follow its rules.

He would uphold his moral bottom line—but for those who deserved to die, he would no longer show mercy.

Shing!

Shen An poured his soul power into a leaf in his hand. The leaf burst into radiant light, transforming into a streak of sword light that shot toward the enemy.

"What is this?!" Tian Ya panicked as he felt the sharpness of the attack and raised his blade in defense.

Clang!

A mere green leaf collided with his short blade and exploded in brilliant sparks, making Tian Ya's heart tremble.

"Bu Le! E'Kao! This guy isn't simple—go together!"

Bu Le and E'Kao noticed as well and immediately activated their soul skills to attack Shen An.

"Go!" E'Kao shouted. His feathered arms flapped, unleashing a barrage of feathers that turned into a white feathered tornado rushing toward Shen An and the others.

Each feather was sharp as a blade, glinting with a metallic sheen, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

Shui Bing'er stood frozen for a second. Weren't they supposed to retreat while fighting? Why did Shen An look like he was going for an all-out attack?

Still, she remained composed. She quickly activated her second soul skill, casting a layer of icy armor over everyone, then prepared to unleash a freezing control technique.

Shui Yue'er reacted a bit slower—but it didn't matter.

Because Shen An was already charging forward with his Nine-Leaf Swordgrass in hand, soul rings—one yellow, two purple, one black—rising behind him, an aura of cold killing intent filling the air.

Everyone was stunned. His second ring was thousand-year, and the fourth was ten-thousand-year—utterly beyond comprehension.

Watching from the shadows, Wu Zhong was speechless, his eyes burning with greed.

What terrifying power... What a surprise. If I devour this boy, how powerful will I become? Could those soul rings be the result of a secret method?

As Shen An charged, Shui Bing'er panicked. That was three Soul Kings—how could he face them head-on? The best plan was for her to lead with a control technique.

With her top-tier beast Martial Soul, Ice Phoenix, even a Soul King could be affected. But Shen An just rushed ahead—was he trying to die?

"A ten-thousand-year ring? So what?! The three of us Soul Kings can't take down a mere Soul Ancestor?!" Tian Ya shouted, not in anger but excitement.

All three used their fifth soul rings without hesitation. Despite their bravado, they were cautious—Shen An's rings spooked them.

Shen An stared at them with a look reserved for the dead. His four rings flared.

Windchasing Lightning Step.

Sword Control.

Azure Sword Eyes.

Unrestrained.

His sword turned into a sweeping green light, illuminating the battlefield.

The sharpness of his sword intent, the strength of his momentum, and his soul power all condensed into this one strike.

The trio charged toward him—but the sword light didn't follow a straight path. It curved like a drifting ribbon of death.

Their bodies collapsed silently beneath the forest, heads soaring into the air. Even as they flew, their eyes held disbelief.

How could a Soul Ancestor's sword be so fast? So sharp?

Blood filled the air.

Shen An even shielded Tom and Jerry's eyes with his arm. This was too gory—children shouldn't see this.

Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er turned pale. Though strong, they had never killed anyone, let alone witnessed such carnage.

"A Soul Ancestor... with this kind of power? Incredible."

"But boy, those three were my subordinates. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

A black-robed man, Wu Zhong, stepped out. "Tell me how you can absorb soul rings across levels, and I'll let you live."

He was stunned by Shen An's speed and strength just now. To kill three Soul Kings with one sword stroke—he'd need to go all-out to manage that himself. It made him cautious.

Still, that strike must've drained Shen An's power. To him, the boy was now a lamb waiting for slaughter.

Shen An stared coldly. With his Azure Sword Eyes, he had long since detected the man in hiding.

He just hadn't expected him to reveal himself so quickly—as if afraid Shen An would run.

"A dead man has no right to make demands."

With a flicker, Shen An handed Tom and Jerry to Shui Bing'er, then turned into a sword light and shot toward Wu Zhong.

Wu Zhong hadn't expected Shen An to attack so suddenly, and at such speed—it was just like before, if not faster.

No—I have to finish this fast. If another Soul Sage shows up from Tianshui City, things could get messy. Wu Zhong thought grimly.

Seven soul rings circled around him, his soul power distorting the air. A ghostly Martial Soul loomed behind him.

Shui Bing'er panicked—things just kept getting worse. Right after defeating three Soul Kings, now a Soul Saint shows up. Could today get any worse?

"Yue'er, run! Go get Mother. Shen An and I will hold him off!" Shui Bing'er said, face pale.

To her credit, she quickly determined the best plan: Shui Yue'er, being the weakest, should go for help, while she and Shen An hold Wu Zhong off with control and offense.

But she underestimated two things—Shen An's true power, and Tom and Jerry.

"You think you can escape? None of you are leaving alive."

"Martial Soul True Body!"

Wu Zhong unleashed his Martial Soul True Body without hesitation—something not even the three dead Soul Kings had seen.

Shen An's eyes narrowed. He wasn't afraid of Wu Zhong—he just didn't want to expose too much in front of the girls.

So he pretended to be tense and shouted, "Shui Yue'er! Go! You're our only hope!"

Shui Yue'er's usually bright face turned ghostly pale. This was her first brush with true life-and-death danger.

Hearing Shen An and Shui Bing'er, she knew she couldn't help here. Clenching her teeth, she turned and fled.

"You're not getting away!"

A dark ray shot from Wu Zhong's ghostly hand, aiming straight for her back.

Shen An immediately used Sword Control, his Nine-Leaf Swordgrass flying to intercept.

But before his sword even arrived—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several bullets shattered the dark ray.

Wu Zhong froze. Who was that?

Scanning around, he finally noticed the cat—holding a long-barreled weapon and pointing it right at him.

What a good toy... it can block my attacks. Wu Zhong's eyes gleamed with greed. He didn't care about Shui Yue'er anymore.

To him, if he could devour Shen An today, it would be a huge gain.

A strange intuition told him—devouring Shen An would bring unimaginable rewards.

That's why he was willing to risk revealing himself so close to the city.

Shui Bing'er stepped beside Shen An. "I'll restrict him. Let's not fight him head-on—a Soul Saint is beyond us."

"Alright." Shen An smiled, then struck Shui Bing'er on the neck with a knifehand, knocking her out.

Wu Zhong was stunned. What kind of move was that?

"Now then, let me give you my full attention," Shen An said with a radiant smile. "Are you ready to die?"